The LGBTQ Center of Durham is inviting folks to collaborate on taking action to improve wellness for LGBTQ people in our community, particularly transgender / genderqueer /gender nonconforming people and LGBTQ people of color.

We opened our doors in October 2015, and are receiving a number of requests for information and resources on housing, safe spaces for youth, and more. We already know that there are needs and gaps in services in Durham as well as our surrounding communities. What we want to do is work together to assess what we have and create ways to collaborate on improving wellness, not just through traditional systems, but also by finding ways to take care of one another informally.

To that end, we are inviting folks to participate in a number of working groups to fulfill a vision of wellness and thriving for LGBTQ people in Durham.

We are creating an organizing team to work on a "big picture" issues related to LGBTQ community wellness and to support the working groups. One task of this group will be to build upon work begun by our initial committees, to assess the current community resources listed on our website, look for more resources, and gather testimonials about services for LGBTQ people.

Some of the initial areas of focus include:

Creating safe spaces with and for LGBTQ youth

LGBTQ competent medical care

LGBTQ competent mental health care

Housing

Poverty and economic justice

Interpersonal violence

HIV/AIDS

Spirituality / spiritual health

Sexual health

Racial justice and wellness

Disability justice and wellness

Substance abuse / addiction / recovery

Others that people suggest

The working groups will use a collaborative approach, striving to listen deeply to one another and avoiding hierarchies. We will encourage diverse representation across generations, experiences and identities. It’s important that we have representation from people most affected by current disparities and gaps in services. We want to make sure that the most marginalized voices are at the center of our work, so we will be thinking about the role of oppression in all aspects of the work.

Each working group might think about:

What resources already exist and what are still needed

The results of the Community Assessment conducted in the summer and fall of 2015

How the LGBTQ Center of Durham can address inquiries about their area

What inclusive & accessible wording we use to talk about our area on the website and in other materials

Issues of access

Training needs

Vetting relevant resources on the Center’s website

This is a true call for collaboration, facilitated by LeLaina Romero, a volunteer at the LGBTQ Center of Durham who is passionate about community wellness, particularly for LGBTQ people of color. She has experience facilitating community projects where community members are the true leaders. This will be a long-term effort, and for the moment we are calling for volunteers. We hope to be mindful of the fact that we have abundant resources in our resilient LGBTQ community and that there is much work to be done. Our call is to do what we can, and to take care of ourselves and one another as we are doing it.